THE DALLAS POST DALLAS, PA. FRIDAY
\
, DECEMBER 3, 1037
1. A modern concrete highway leading from Dallas and connect-
2. A greater development of community consciousness among
6. A consolidated high school eventually, and better co-operation £ ||
7. Complete elimination of politics from local school affairs.
El El
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Dallas. It strives constantly to be more than a newspaper, a com- i : 3. Centralization of local police protection.
munity 1nstitution i A LIBERAL, INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED EVERY i 4. Sanitary sewage disposal systems for local towns
i FrRiDAY MORNING AT THE DALLAS POsT PLANT, LEHMAN : SA i i ,
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5 Howerr Bo RERS i aan any Managing Editor : 8. Construction of more sidevalks.
&
~ WASHINGTON
PARADE
By
RAY JOHNSON
and
WALTER PIERCE
Washington, D. C., December 2
(Special to the Post) — Congress
as dug in for the winter.
The signs are all too evident that
re will be debate and delay. Odd:
y enough, out of this very procrasti-
‘nating will probably come a new alig
ment of forces which may develop
ie soundest program yet presented
‘to the American people.
In spite of the cry for decreased
government spending and decreas~d
‘takes an increasing number of the
Legislators are in accord on two big
~ points: Little business must be help
ed and the buying power of the pub
ic must be raised.
For the first time in some years,
Vice-president Garner and his bloc
and the Administration seem to see
ye to eye on these objectives even
if they are not in agreement as to
method.
The cry of big business, whose
spokesman seems to be Senator Van-
‘denburg of Michigan, a gentleman
ever unmindful of the fact that the
Republican party will need a presi-
‘dential candidate in 1940, is that big
business, if freed from gains tax and
assured of the repeal of the Wagner
Act, relieved of the threat of a wage
hour bill, and with social security end-
‘ed, would be ready to spend vast
ums of tnoney on expansion.
Big business is probably quite sin-
cere in its belief that this remedy
would work but the present session
of Congress will hardly be in a posi
tion to do much about it.
~The concessions made, if any, will
‘be few, and this largely because the
resent business recession is again fo-
sing attention on unemployment
~ Reports of ‘lay-offs’ in industry
d the demands of the mayors of
ies who convened here recently in-
cate only too clearly that there will
; no drop nor an increase in Fede-
ral Relief expenditures this year.
When the figures of the unémploy-
nt census are available the picture
will be clear. :
It will not be surprising to see a
“majority of both houses come to sud-
den agreement on a program which
will prove distinctly disappointing to
enator Vandenburg and his follow-
ers. ;
YOU CAN'T PASS THE BUCK
Few of us have any adequate realization of
the amazing progress that has taken place in mak-
ing our modern automobiles mechanically safe. In-
ventors and engineers have literally shot the works,
all the way from major improvements in brakes and
bodies, to relatively minor safety additions such
as the elimination of projections on the instrument
instrument boards.
Similar progress has taken place in highway
design. Non-skid surfaces have been applied, the
curves made into straight-aways, hills flattened, and
turns banked with slide-rule accuracy. And what
are the results of all this expenditure of time, and
money, and ingenuity? A soaring accident record,
and a death toll that approaches the 40,000 mark
annually.
The motorist can’t pass the buck. Individual
carelessness, individual incompetence, individual ig-
norance—these are the prime causes of accidents.
The most withering commentary that can be made
on our driving habits is the fact that the bulk of
fatal accidents occur on good modern roads, under
favorable weather conditions, and involve cars in
excellent mechanical condition. The proportion of
accidents that are honestly caused by mechanical
failure of vehicles or bad road conditions, is micro
scopic.
" Figures indicate that the 1937 toll will be even
greater than the all-time record established in 1936.
The most dangerous driving months are just in the
offing, bringing with them shorter daylight hours,
and snow and ice and rain. There is a very definite
chance that you or one of your family will be the
victim of a reckless motorist—or that someone else
will be the victim of your driving. We will never
reduce the accident toll until every motorist real-
izes the vast responsibility that develops on a man
at the wheel of a car, and takes the simple pre-
cautions that will avoid 90 per cent of all acci-
dents.
APPLES FROM OUTSIDE
The attention of this newspaper has been call-
distribution through the emergency relief agencies
are being shipped into Luzerne county from other
sections. This, it seems to us, is a strange method
to employ in trying to improve conditions in this
county.
growers with sizable surpluses, which they must
store and hold until prices climb to a level which
will give them a fair reward for their work. In
view of such quantities of apples stored here it
seems very, very unfair deliberately to go elses
where to buy apples for families on relief.
ed to the fact that apples in large quantities for |
A bumper crop of apples has left most big
EDITORIALS
We believe a committee of fruit
should confer with relief officials to ascertain if the
shipments which were received a week or so ago
are indicative of a policy that is to be followed
out here. If apples must be bought for local con-
sumption, let’s buy them from our own farmers,
who deserve such consideration and will appreciate
it.
PROHIBITION AGAIN
Alcohol may become a dominant issue again in
Pennsylvania politics.
. Although five local communities have, within
the past few years, turned thumbs down on local
option, the dry forces have been making amazing
headway in other parts of Pennsylvania. There
are now 479 communities which have local option
in this state. Two out of three of the communities
which’ have had local option elections have voted
dry.
. This trend back to prohibition cannot be ignored.
There is every possibility that it will continue next
year at the state-wide elections when many more
cities, boroughs and townships will vote on the
question of permitting the sale of liquor within
their boundaries. i
It is a matter of fact that many people who voted
so hopefully against prohibition four years ago are
now expressing impatience with the present situa-
tion. We need go no farther than our own neigh-
borhood to discover why people are turning in'dis-
gust to complete prohibition again.
Pennsylvania sales of liquor and spirits are con-
ducted under a state monopoly. = There are now
four hundred state-owned stores distributing liquor
in bottles. There is no great criticism against this
system and it is generally conceded that the state
stores are well run.
But there is plenty of fault to find with the es
tablishments which sell liquor by the drink. Under
an enforcement as lax as that which permitted
crime to flourish during the prohibition era, Penn-
sylvania has permitted so-called “restaurants” and
“clubs” to dispense liquor on the flimsiest sort of
qualifications. a :
There are, as Collier's magazine pointed out re-
cently, musical clubs without music and yacht
clubs without even rowboats. Their business is
merely the sale of liquor. Call them clubs, hotels,
restaurants or speakeasies, eventually they are sa-
loons and modern ingenuity has invented a few
evils that the old saloon never had.
The logical procedure would be to provide a
sufficient inspection force to assure observance of
the laws governing drinking places. Today Penn-
sylvania has 15,000 licensed places to sell liquor
growers |and only 150 inspectors. The Liquor Control Board
says its inspectors are too few to police so many
establishments.
The situation will be no better so long as Penn-
sylvania liquor dispensing regulations are weighted
down by politics, which is, more than any other
factor, responsible for the evils which are causing
thoughtful people to turn toward prohibition again.
Deprive the politician of his power to interfere and
any moderately intelligent, honest, local policeman
will have no trouble in cleaning up the mess.
Wise men in the liquor trade will do well to
note the growing hostile public opinion. It is pos-
sible to establish an honest and rational regulation
of the liquor traffic. Canada has succeeded in man-
aging its liquor problem with satisfaction to the
vast majority of the people. If they can do it the
problem cannot be insoluble here.
A PRETTY JAM
President Roosevelt now finds himself in a pretty
Not very long ago President Roosevelt said that
the recovery of business during his first Admin-
istration was not the result of pure chance or a
mere turn of the wheel in a cycle. “We planned it
that way and don’t let anybody tell you differently”
he said.
responsibility, too.
J I
\
TED
y
LIMI
s
W. A.
New York, N. Y., December 2—
(Special to the Post)—The street of
sham where they brag in bogus Bri-
thick padded chests that never came
Forty-second street. . where the gals’
gems are glass and the “priceless”
pelts are pussycat. ...where theres
never a tittle of truth in who they
lare or what they're doing or where
‘they're. going. ...that’s
“He's a regular guy. Nothing phon-
ey about him.” HE
Se : ;
But in every decade only a few
Itry that almost sure-fire rule for suc-
cess. If you've got it in you, be your
pete ! ;
which became “The Birth of
|fith offered ten thousand for it but
he didn’t have the cash. So the auth-
Whether the present recession develops into an‘ or reluctantly took a quarter interest
velt labor leaders and Congress.
The wheels of the Coach of Progress are mired
in a man-made economic quagmire. The horses that
pull the load have been flogged untsl-they are balk-
ing. The passengers (all of us) who have tickets
are becoming fearful it will be stuck in the mud
and are wading ashore. The owners of the coach
are seeking a way out of the quagmire. If the coach
is pulled out of the mire some of the political dead-
heads will have to be dumped off.
President Roosevelt is the driver. He will have
to do the job now or admit his defeat and turn over
the seat to Congress or Business.
We do not envy his position.
I have just gotten around to see
A collector of “firsts” we know
believes the cards filled out by the
unemployed will one day have great
value as Americana, and so he’s fil-
ing several away for his heirs.
os
Of more immediate value, of
course, will be the figures which will
come from this first counting of idle
hands. Business men as well as pol
iticians will study them carefully.
The business man will have a pretty
RIVES
MATTHEWS
Hollywood’s version of “The Good
Earth,” and I must confess I was
amazed and confounded by what the
film guardians of our morals did to
Pearl Buck’s story. As the picture
now stands, it seems to me it’s the
most immoral picture ever to hit the
silver screen. It missed all the im-
plications of time and sweep Miss
Buck’s book possessed and became on
the screen merely a success story,
with theft and pillage rewarded, and
dalliance with the flesh pots uncon-
In spite of the Senator's Presiden
tial aspirations the present betting
“odds, which are, of course, rounded
on information gathered so carefully
that it makes the activities of the sec-
ret service and international spies
seem like rank amateurs, distinctly
favor Herbert Hoover. The odds like
wise favor the President for a third
term. And like all odds they are
subject to change without notice.
fd
It’s just as well to remember that |
political odds are never believed by
the candidate themselves. If Candi
date Smith-Jones heard his favorite
football team quoted at three to one,
fellow put up three dollars before he
fished the single one out of his own
pocketbook. But Smith-Jones is al-
ways firmly convinced that in politics,
‘no matter what the odds, he has a
fifty fifty chance—or better.
Thats why you'll hear some very
‘strange speeches and see some queer
cavorting as they jockey for the
start in the next few years.
A THOUGHT
FOR THIS WEEK
: When shrieked
The bleak November winds, and
smote the woods,
And the brown fields were herbless,
and the shades
That met above the merry rivulet
Were spoiled, I sought, I loved them
still; they seemed
Like old companions in adversity.
fair picture of his market, once the
|count is completed, and our politic:
‘fans, who must seek reelection next In short,
we shall soon have the Americana that is worth
demned. The real hero of the show,
much to my surprise, turned out to
having right
ving rig be some of Mr. Rockefeller’s gasoline,
he'd be careful to see that the other |
fall and in 1940, will have to know
how many of their voters are job-
less before they can sound off with
any degree of certainty on the sub
ject of relief.
—
If, as may well be the case, the
picture shortly to be handed wus,
turns out to be more cheerful, than
the calamity howlers have predicted,
then business will be able to heave
a sigh of relief and we shall see an-
other upswing and consequently
more employment. But if, as the we-
told-you-so boys have said, the num-
ber of jobless is even greater than
currently conjectured, business will
still have little cause to be blue.
jeepers
It will be time for business to take
a hitch in its belt, stop bellyaching,
and manfully figure out ways and
means to handle the relief problem
with which it will be so squarely
confronted.
pall
Posibly it will be necessary to run
this country from now on with the
idea that there will always be a cer-
tain number of people who will have
to be given help. If this seems to
be the only way, then let's get the
matter settled, and let's not forget
that even people on relief are con-
sumers of sorts. It is only the peo
ple who are not on relief and not
on payrolls who are not consumers.
They're no good to anyone, business
or themselves, so, whatever the re-
—Broant.
sult of the count, it should produce
nothing but good for all of us.
first straw in the wind business has
had since the draft figures were made
public back in the days of the World
War. And we shall have some real
now, and worth a lot more than any
unemployment cards can ever be to
our grandchildren.
‘
THE AVA
LANCHE
ant a)
which drove the locusts away from
the illgotten fields of the film’s pro-
tagonists to the fields, presumably, of
poorer but more honest folk who had
not stolen jewels with which to pay
for the education of their sons in col-
leges of agriculture where they teach
the virtues of gasoline as an insect-
icide.
—o—
The performance of Paul Muni
and Luise Ranier are beyond cavil,
but as for Walter Connolly and Tilly
Losch, I can only say that whenever
I had to contemplate their antics I
had to shudder, they were so out of
key. They ruined the picture for
me long before Charlie Chan's son
was called upon to carry the story
to its highly anti-social conclusion.
And why, I ask you, did they cast
that youthful Chinese phony in what
should have been a genre piece, and
which would have been had its di-
rector taken a cue from Mr. Muni
and Miss Ranier?
Se
As I remember Miss Buck's book,
it did not say: “Once upon a time in
China” the story that follows hap-
pened, but rather: “Not once upon a
time, but every so often” China has
witnessed such a story. Hollywood
chose to twist Miss Buck’s book into
an isolated anecdote, and missed a
great story in its anxiety to follow
a hack scenarist’s plot, complete with
happy ending . . . and anyone should
know that China is the last place in
the world where the Cinderella story
has ever had any lasting meaning . . .:
other depression depends upon President Roose’ lin the film. Oh, Hum. You guess:
ed. A million.
—_0-
Extra: French Casino folds.
some say it was tax trouble. And
some say it was the stunt of trying
to bring over that French femme who
claims she was Mussolini's big throb.
Immigration wouldn't let her in be-
cause she had been convicted of a
shooting in France. But a great big
claphands to the New York cops who
served notice they wouldn't let her
act if she did get in. Not that this
column objects to gun gals, but we
think that if they've got to use em
on the stage they ought to pick home
talent.
——
And a deep bow to that worthy
successor to the plays that make you
laugh and make you cry and send you
out of the theatre thinking it*ain’t
such a bad old world after all. “Fath-
fer Maloney’s Miracle” with Al
|Shean. :
——
Aside to M. E. G.: Sure, Jane
Withers will be in the movie Big
Ten for 1937. She'll be second only
to Shirley.
—pr—
the social dowagers who make a
practice of taking off their undies
and parading around as Cleopatra in
a string of pearls for Art's sake are
all atwitch as to how they're going
to show off,
—
Something novel in entertaining:
The Circus party given a few nights
ago by Joan Clair Belb, with the
guests in circus costumes and the
rooms cleverly decorated to resemble
tents. During the evening Arthur
Boran, who is the voice of President
Roosevelt on the “March of Time”
impersonated Broadway and Holly-
wood celebrities. Another guest was
Elizabeth Ryder, radio star often
heard over NBC. More treats for
the guests were the delightful cow-
boy songs of Jack Wallace and the
brilliant violin playing of Jean Mo-
ran. Before the evening was over
Dorothy Dee had sung her most
popular songs, and a newcomer to
Broadway, Leonard Ralph, thrilled
the guests with his expert and origi-*
nal performance.
—O—
Garbo’s “Conquest” is grand but
the customers are snooting it. ...and
why do the papers always point out
that so-and-so is a descendant of John
Alden when it was Aunt Priscilla
who had all the gumption of the fam~
ily.
oi
We know a man who makes an
annual pilgrimage to Cuba to put
flowers on the grave of his great-
great- great-grandfather whe was kill-
ed when the Americans took Havana
in the Spanish War—1735 years ago.
“
1
from anywhere nearer London than
tish and show off in pseudo So'th’n..
..where they wear “English Drape”
suits with wide padded shoulders and
%
y
\
BROADWAY ||
the place ©
jam, and history will probably measure his stature where the acme of approbation is
pretty much by what happens in the next few years. : 5
We are willing to grant that. We believe he | Here, on its twenty-first birthday,
spoke with sincerity. That's why we feel that he is the first cinema :
is guilty of inconsistency and bad sportsmanship Thomas Dixon's book, “The Clans-
when he blames business for the current recession. man”,
A man cannot demand credit without accepting a Nation” on the screen. D. W. Gri
“luck” story, of Gao
par
And
No Beaux Arts Ball this year and ) f